Musical whistle



F. P. FERRISJ Jan. 3%, m3 1,443,569

MUSICAL. WHISTLE. FILED Juur 5, 1921.

12724020, n H V y INVENTOR. 2 Frank PFErrLs.

BY k

Patented Jan. 30, 1923.

FRANK P. FEBRIS, OF LINCOLN, NEBRASKA.

MUSICAL WHISTLE.

Application filed July 5,

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, FRANK P. FnRRIs, a

citizen of the United States, residing at Lincoln, in the county of LilillCttSJii and State of Nebraska, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Musical lVhistles, of which the following is a specification.

My invention relates to a musical whistle of the type of musical horns which are sometimes used on automobiles, trucks, and other vehicles driven by internal combustion motors, and one of its objects is to provide a more perfect control of the tone and of the volume of the musical notes.

Another object of my invention is to produce a non-clogging whistle which will blow out and otherwise eliminate the partioles of matter which tend to lodge in the whistle when the exhaust gases from the engine pass through the whistle.

Other objects of my invention will be hereinafter made clearly apparent in the specification and pointed out in the claims.

In the accompanying drawings I have shown the preferred form which my invention may take.

In the accompanying'drawings, Fig. 1 is a view partly in section and with parts broken away, showing the attachment as applied to the exhaust of a gas engine, and Fig. 2 shows a detail with the knife edge of the piston seated in the slit.

The attachment consists of two parts A and B, A being the whistle proper and B the valve which controls the flow of the exhaust gases through the whistle.

The body of the whistle includes a metallic cylindrical tube 10 screw-threaded on its outer periphery at its upper end at 11 and having its inner and outer walls tapered to a sharp edge at its lower end 12, for purposes hereinafter set forth. On the upper screw-threaded end is secured a cap 13 having a central opening 14 for the passage of a piston rod, and one or more openings 15 serving as an inlet or outlet for the air as the piston is pushed down or up.

At the lower end of the tube 10 is secured a head 16 described in detail as follows: the lower end 17 of the head 16 is cylindrical and is screw-threaded for the attachment to the exhaust either directly or by means of' a coupling, as shown in the drawings. The main portion of the head 16 consists of two. frusto-conical portions l8 and L9 1921. SerialNo. 482,553.

merged at their bases. The portion 19 comprises a clamping band 20 which is merged with the portionlS through a plurality of connecting ribs 21 having openings 22 there bet-ween. The clamping band is slit and is provided on each side of the slit portion with ears 23 which are clamped together by meansof screws 24 or anyother appropriate fastening means. By attaching this clampmg band 20 to the tube 10 near its lower end, the head 16 is firmly secured to the tube 10.

The inner part of portion 18 of the head is cut away with the exception of the lugs 25, preferably fourin number, and these are provided with screw threads into which the screw threaded disc 26 fits. The disc 26 is lntegral with the disc 27, the diameter of which is somewhat greater than that of the disc 26, but slightly smaller than that of the opening into which it fits, thus leaving a narrow circular slit between the disc 27 and the inner surface of the head 16 Gases flowing from the exhaust enter the Whistle, pass through .between the lugs 25, then through the narrow circular slit above mentioned and into the. tube finally leaving the whistle through the openings22.

The sound waves. are produced by forcing the exhaust gases into the tube 10." For changing the amplitude of the vibrations a piston 28 is provided to slide in the tube 10. The piston 28 is secured at its central point to a piston rod 29 which slides through the aperture ltof the cap 13, and

at the outer end of the piston. rod is secured a han'digrip 30. r I a The piston 28 is provided with a groove into which is inserted a piston ring. 81 of the expansible type well known in internal combustion engines. The extremity of the 2 piston is provided with a circular knife edge 82 which fits into the circular slit between the disc 27 and the inner surface of the head. ,The parts are so proportioned that when the knife edge 32 is seated in the slit, the piston ring is atthe tapered end of the tube 10, permitting the'ring to'expand thus resisting the pressure of the exhaust gases and to a large extent constitutinga lock against sudden displacement. While I have shown my invention as applied to a closed pipe it. is obvious that it will be equally effective on an open pipe. Only one sound varying in intensity'will be produced in an open pipe, but if the cap, 13 and the piston 28 are omitted, leaving. onlyv a paroperated whistles useless.

row cylinder having the circular knife edge 32 and means for thrusting this forward and backward, it would of course serve to keep the passages clear of extraneous matter.

One serious drawback with musical horns formerly in use their tendency to clog up with solid particles which are carried in the exhaust gases. To obviate this difficulty l have provioed an enlarged approach to the slit between the disc 27 and the inner surface of the head. The result of this con.- struction is that the gases are accelerated in their movement through the narrow slit, carrying with them the particles which would otherwise lodge in the slit. The knife edge on the piston also serves to clear the slit, and it has been found that this com-- bination of elements entirel Y eliminates the troubles which quickly render existing gaslhe piston 28. ring 31, and knife edge also prevent the accumulation of carbon and gummy depos its on the walls of the pipe, and. thus pre serve the clear tone of the whistle.

The whistle is secured to any portion of the manifold or exhaust pipe liy means of the screwthreaded portion of the lower end 17 of the head 16, either directly or by means of a coupling 34 of any type desired. To direct the flow of the gases through the whistle at will, a valve is provic ed at the outer extremity of the exhaust pipe. This valve must be of the flapper type, as avalve of any other type would be blown off by the sudden changes in pressure in the exhaust pipe. The valve consists of a collar which is clamped to the reduced outlet of the exhaust'pipe by means of set screws 36, preferably three in number, and integral with the collar are two cars 37. The flapper consists of a circular disc 38 which is large enough to cover the opening in the collar, and this disc 38 has a plurality of lugs 39 and 40 extending outwardly radially therefrom. The lug 39 has an car 41 projecting rearwardly therefrom and this ear a1 fits between the ears 37 and is pivoted thereto. On the upper end of the lug 39 is secured a coiled spring 42, the other end of which is secured to any fixed part of the engine or the body carrying'it. The lower ends of the arms d0 have attached thereto cords or wires 43 which are connected preferably to a foot lever within convenient reach of the operator; The valve has a secondary function as a deflector for the exhaust gases. In some of the cars on the market, it has been found necessary to install such deflectors, usually in fixed position, to prevent the exhaust gases "from reaching the face of the operator. I

Because of the small number and the simplicity of the controls, the invention is particularly applicable to automobiles and.

ea s 5e trucks. The volume of the sound is con.- trolled by the foot lever action on the valve, whereby the amount of gas entering the whistle can be easily regulated and quickly varied. The musical notes are made by the movement of the piston 28, and the control of the piston through the hand grip is so sensitive that with a little practice the operator can play the popular airs while driving the car. The sounds thus produced are exceedingly agreeable to the ear, resembling the rich tones of a pipe organ, but if a sudden warning signal is needed, one or two rapid strokes of the piston will result 1n some of the most startling noises imaginable. Although intended primarily for use on trucks and automobiles, the invention can be applied to any internal combustion engine, movable or stationary, and can be made to serve the same purposesto which steam whistles are put.

l v hat I claim as new is:

1. In a whistle, a pipe, and means for admitting gas under pressure into said pipe. SllClil'lEttllS comprising an element spaced from the end of thepipe, a narrow slit in the element, said slit being similar to but slightly smaller in outline than the end of the pipe, and an enlarged entrance'to said slit.

2. In a whistle, a pipe, means for con ducting gas under pressure into the pipe, said means comprising an element spaced from the end of the pipe, a slit in the element, and an entrance to said slit, said entrance having walls which, are substantially parallel adjacent the slit but diverging beyond the parallel portion.

3. In a whistle, a pipe, means for conducting under pressure into the pipe, said means comprising an elemcntspaced from the end of the pipe, a slit in the element, and means slidable in the pipe and adapted to enter said slit for the purpose of dislodging particles of solidmatter from the slit.

4. In a whistle, a pipe, means for conducting gas under pressure into the pipe, said means comprising an element spaced from the end of the pipe, a slit in said element, aknife edge having the outline of the slit, said knife edge being mounted to slide lengthwise of the pipe and to enter said slit for the purpose of removing particles of solid matter from the slit.

5 In a whistle, a cylindrical tube open at one end, a body having a narrow circular slit for the passage of'gases, thebody being spaced from the open end of the tube, the axis of the cylindrical tubepassing through the center of the circular slit, said slit being slightly smaller in diameter than thetube, a piston mounted to slide in the cylindrical tube, said piston having a circular knife edge on the side near the open end of the cylinder, the knife edge having the samecircumt'erence as that of the aforementioned circular slit, whereby the circular knife edge seats .in the circular slit when the piston is thrust home, and means for controlling the movement of the piston.

6. The combination as in claim 5, the cylindrical tube being tapered on its inner surface at its open enc, said piston having a circular groove on its periphery, an expansible piston ring seated in said groove, the parts being so proportioned that the distance between the knife edge of the piston and the aforementioned circular slit is substantially equal to the distance between the expansible piston ring and the tapered edge of the cylindrical tube, whereby the piston ring is permitted to expand at the moment when the knife edge of the piston reaches its seat in the circular slit.

7. The combination as in claim 5, said circular slit having an approach which is wedge shaped in cross section, whereby the gases will be accelerated in their movement through the circular slit to blow out particles of matter which tend to lodge in the slit.

8. A valve for controlling the flow of gas from the manifold o-r'exhaust of an internal combustion engine through a whistle, said valve comprising a collar, means for securing the collar to the outlet of the exhaust pipe, a flapper pivoted to the collar, a spring for holding the flapper normally away from the collar, and means for closing the valve at will.

9. A whistle comprising a pipe, a collar surrounding and secured to the inlet end of the pipe, the sides of the collar diverging to a position beyond the inlet end of the pipe and then converging, and means on the collar remote from the pipe for securing it to a source of gas in motion, the collar being provided'with openings for the exit of the gases, said openings being positioned near the inlet end of the pipe.

In testimony whereof I aflix my signature.

FRANK P. FERRIS. 

